The Hindu Business Line : Banks in Singur region faring well

Kolkata, Aug. 28 Banks are doing good business both in terms of deposits and advances in the Singur region, senior bank officials told Business Line.

United Bank of India has two branches in and around the Tata factory site, one in Singur and the other in Ratanpur, Mr T.M. Bhasin, Executive Director of the bank, said.

The bank’s business from the Singur branch grew by almost 380 per cent in the last three years, from Rs 19.75 crore as on March 2005 to Rs 95.52 crore as on March 2008, he said.

Deposits rise

Deposits grew from Rs 15.68 crore to Rs 88.58 crore during the same period and advances were at Rs 6.94 crore, up from Rs 4.07 crore.

“Our business in the region went up significantly after the setting up of the factory, as we were able to mobilise the compensation paid to the farmers after land acquisition,” he said.

The bank has plans to open a few more branches in the region.

“The engineers in that region have opened accounts with our bank. We have no inhibition in opening more branches as we know that our business in the area will prosper,” Mr Bhasin added.

Allahabad Bank has two branches in the region and the business has been doing quite well, according to a senior bank official.

“While the Singur main branch is quite old, the one in Gopalnagar has been there for just a few months. But we are witnessing good business in these branches. In fact, there has been an increase in the last few months,” he said. Total business of both the branches put together was about Rs 77 crore.

Being cautious

Some banks are, however, cautiously watching the situation before going ahead with branch expansion plans. Mr V.K. Dhingra, Executive Director, UCO Bank, said, “We are adopting a ‘wait and watch’ policy and will take a decision on further branch expansion based on developments. There is no point incurring the cost of setting up a branch without adequate business,” he added.

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